The United States has the highest income inequality among comparable nations.Theleft-sidegraphdepicts the USashavingafavorableGinicoefficient (a measure of income inequality)without taxes. After taxesandgovernmenttransfersarefactored in,theUS becomes highly unequal.Oneofthereasonsforthistrendisthat,althoughthe US usesprogressivetaxation,thetax ratesare significantlylowerthantheinternationalstandard and social welfare programs are also much less generous.

Half of Americans under age 35 have a net worth of $10,400 or less, compared to average $81,200 for all families. Strikingly, Americans with a college degree have a median wealth $167,000 higher than those with only a high school diploma.